Vinexpo considers moving its Bordeaux show to earlier in the year
Vinexpo marked the end of its latest bi-annual show in Bordeaux with news that it is looking to move the show to earlier in the year. In a surprise move Guillaume Deglise, chief executive of Bordeaux told a press conference for the French press on the last day of the show that it was looking seriously at moving the show away from its mid to late June time slot.
This came on the back of a Vinexpo Bordeaux that was held in a middle of a heat wave with visitors and exhibitors alike having to suffer from temperatures of 35C and above in some areas. It made travelling to and from the show on Bordeaux's trams difficult and also left Deglise frustrated that many of the new features introduced at the show were not able to truly show their true colours.
Many of the outside restaurants were left empty or quiet during the day as visitors chose to eat indoors.
Moving the show to earlier in the year would get round some of the risk of it falling during very hot weather in the future, but it might also help Vinexpo if it was held in a more relevant time for buyers looking to do business deals. But he would not be drawn on actual date and any time would need to be carefully handled not to conflict with events such as Prowein and Vinitaly.
This year's show again attracted once again a big delegation from Asia and China, its largest visitor group, with also a number of major Chinese wine producers preent.
The Parc des Expositions is also set for a major face lift after it was confirmed that the local council had agreed to a €70 million refurbishment in the coming years with €40m going to update Hall 1, and €30m for building an entirely new Hall 2 which was demolished last year.
Vinexpo Bordeaux also included key areas of focus on Spain, Riesling and organic wines as part of its WOW section.